Texas Hold’em Rules
Omaha Rules
Seven Card Stud Rules
5 Card Draw Rules
Texas Hold’em Rules
Texas Hold’em reigns as the king of poker games because its rules are simple, but the strategy for the game is quite deep. It only takes a few minutes to learn the basic rules, but nobody ever completely masters Texas Hold’em.
A large part of Texas Hold’em’s popularity is how well-balanced the game is. It reveals just enough information to make educated guesses about our opponents’ hands, but it keeps enough information hidden to keep everyone guessing.
Texas Hold’em is classified as a community card game because some of the cards are dealt in the middle of the table and shared by all the players. Each player receives two hidden cards and then combines those cards with any of the five board cards to make the best possible five card poker hand.
Each player may use any combination of hole cards and board cards to make the best hand possible. This includes the use of one, two, or none of the player’s hole cards. If the best hand possible is simply composed of the community cards, then the player can use none of his or her hole cards.
Blinds and Dealer
Texas Hold’em uses a blinds system instead of antes to get each pot started with a little money. The two players to the left of the dealer pay the small blind and big blind. As the dealer’s position moves each hand, the position of the blinds moves around the table. This way each player must take a turn paying the blinds.
The payer directly to the left of the dealer pays the small blind while the player to the left of the small blind pays the big blind. The blinds are sized so that the small blind is equal to half a minimum bet, and the big blind is equal to one minimum bet. For example, the blinds in a $10/$20 Limit Hold’em game would be $5.00 and $10.00.
If you are playing No Limit Texas Hold’em however, the stakes of the game are the blinds. So if you are playing a $10/$20 No Limit Hold’em game, the small blind would be $10 and the big blind would be $20.
In games that employ the use of a full time dealer, a small round disc called the “dealer’s button†is used to represent the position of the dealer each hand. At the beginning of each hand, the dealer’s button moves one seat to the left.
Preflop
After the blinds have been paid, each player is dealt two cards face down, one at a time. The dealers begins with the player to his left and then deals clockwise around the table until each player has two cards.
Next, there is a betting round that begins with the player to the left of the big blind. This player may call the minimum bet to stay in, raise it or fold. After that player acts, the action continues clockwise around the table. If anyone makes a bet or raise, the other players at the table must at least match that bet or fold.
When it comes time for the blinds to act, their forced bets are considered a part of the cost of staying in. So if there is no raise, the big blind may simply check to stay in, since he has already paid one minimum bet.
Flop
Now the flop, or the first three community cards, is dealt face up in the middle of the table. There is another betting round, but this time it starts with the first player to the left of the dealer. This person may check, bet, or fold. The action then continues clockwise.
Turn
One more card is dealt face up next to the flop. This is called the “turn†card. There is another round of betting just like the last round. If it’s a fixed limit game, the upper betting limit would be used from here on out.
River
One final card is dealt face up next to the turn. This is called the “river†card. Now there is a final round of betting. If there is more than one player remaining after this round of betting, the play proceeds to a showdown to determine the winner. If there is only 1 player left after this round, that player may collect the pot without showing his cards.
Showdown
Any players still in the hand now reveal their hole cards. The player with the best five card poker hand, using any combination of hole cards and community cards, wins the pot.
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Omaha Rules
Omaha Poker is the second most popular form of poker, right after Texas Hold’em. It’s known for featuring bigger hands and bigger pots than Texas Hold’em, so you’ll find an interesting mix of poker fans and action junkies at the Omaha tables.
The game looks nearly the same as Texas Hold’em except each player is dealt four hole cards instead of two. In addition to that, each player must use exactly two of his hole cards and three of the community cards when making a poker hand.
If you will remember back to Texas Hold’em, a player can use two, one, or zero of his hole cards to create a hand. This is not the case in Omaha poker. The additional two cards would make the game too wild and nearly unplayable if the players didn’t have to use exactly two of their hole cards.
This change, although minor, causes recent Texas Hold’em converts all kinds of trouble in the beginning. One of the biggest problems comes from hands that are formed with a lot of help from the board.
For example, if there are four spades on the board, a Texas Hold’em player would just have to have one spade in his hand to have a flush. But in Omaha, since a player must use two of his hole cards, he would have to have two spades in his hand to complete that same flush.
Blinds and Dealer
Omaha uses the same blinds system as Hold’em. The player to the left of the dealer must pay the small blind, which is a forced bet equal to half the lower betting limit. The player sitting to the left of the small blind must pay the big blind, which is equal to the lower betting limit.
For example, in a $2/$ Omaha game the small blind is $1 and the big blind is $2.
The position of the dealer moves one space to the left at the beginning of each hand. This is done so that each player must pay both blinds once per orbit. If the game uses a full time dealer, a small disc, called the dealer’s button, may be used to represent the position of the dealer at the table.
Preflop
Once the blinds have been paid, each player is dealt four cards face down. The deal begins with the player to the left of the dealer and continues clockwise around the table. Each player is dealt one card at a time until each player has four cards.
The first betting round then begins with the player to the left of the small blind. This player may call the minimum bet to stay in, raise, or fold. The betting then continues clockwise around the table.
Flop
Next, three cards are dealt face up in the middle of the table. These are the first community cards and they may be used in combination with any two of the player’s hole cards to create the best possible five card poker hand.
Another round of betting begins, but this time it starts with the first active player to the left of the dealer. This player may check, bet, or fold. The betting then continues clockwise.
Turn
Another community card is dealt face up next to the flop. Next, another round of betting begins with the first player to the left of the dealer. From here on out, all bets are made in increments of the upper betting limit.
River
One final community card is dealt face up next to the turn. A final round of betting takes place in the exact same manner as the previous round. If there is more than one player remaining after this betting round, the remaining players go to a showdown.
Showdown
The remaining players now reveal their hole cards. The player with the best five card poker hand, using any two of his hole cards and three of the community cards, wins the pot.
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Seven Card Stud Rules
Seven Card Stud is one of the most popular non-Hold’em poker games and can be found in most casinos, live or online. Before Texas Hold’em came around, Seven Card Stud was the king of poker. It was the game you had to know if you considered yourself a poker player.
Today, Seven Card Stud is still played at every casino and in many major tournament series, including the World Series of Poker. Many of the high stakes mixed format games such as H.O.R.S.E. include Seven Card Stud in their lineups.
If you’d really like to expand your poker skills into a useful area, Seven Card Stud is a great game to learn. A lot of high stakes Hold’em players are also proficient at Seven Card Stud. Even if you don’t play it very often, it makes for a great thinking exercise that will help you excel in all forms of poker.
Seven Card Stud requires the use of several critical skills at the same time. Not only do you need to know the odds of various draws and be able to read your opponents, but you also need to have a strong memory to recognize which cards have already been revealed.
It might sound difficult, but if you can become a strong Seven Card Stud player, there is a lot of money to be made. Seven Card Stud strategy isn’t discussed or written about nearly as extensively as Texas Hold’em strategy. If you become decent at the game, you’ll find that there are a lot of fish who have no idea what they are doing.
Antes
Seven Card Stud is played with an ante, which is a small bet that every player contributes to the pot at the beginning of each hand. A typical ante size is about 10% of the lower betting limit. In a $10/$20 game, the antes would be $1.00.
Third Street
After all the antes have been paid, the dealer gives each player three cards. Two are dealt face down and one is dealt face up.
The player with the lowest card showing must “bring-in†the betting by placing a bet equal to half of the small bet. In a $10/$20 game, the bring-in would be $5. The player paying the bring-in may leave it at that amount or raise it up to the full minimum bet (in this case, $10).
After the bring in has been posted, the betting continues clockwise around the table. Each player may call, raise, or fold. If any player raises, all the other players at the table must either call, raise, or fold.
Fourth Street
Each player is now dealt one card face up. A round of betting follows but this time the betting begins with the player who has the best hand showing. This player may either check or bet.
Fifth Street
Each player is dealt another card face up. Another round of betting begins, but from here on out, the bets must all be in increments of the upper betting limit.
Sixth Street
One card is dealt to each player face up. This is followed by another round of betting.
Seventh Street
Each player is dealt a final card face down. This is followed by a final round of betting.
Note – If there are not enough cards to give to each player, a single community card can instead be dealt in the middle of the table. The players all share this card and can use it to complete their own hands.
Showdown
Any players remaining after the last betting round now show their cards. Out of the seven cards, the player with the best five card poker hand wins the pot. If there is only one player left at this point, that player may take the pot without showing his hand.
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5 Card Draw Rules
Five Card Draw is the simplest form of poker and is a favorite at home games around the world. It’s an easy game to pick up and play because it requires little preparation. All you need is a deck of cards and at least two players.
Antes and Blinds
Some Five Card Draw games use antes and others use blinds. If an ante is used, each player is required to place a small bet at the beginning of each hand. Antes can range in size from 10% to 20% of the small betting limit. In a $5/$10 game, the antes would be about $0.50.
Due to the explosion of Texas Hold’em, some players are more comfortable using blinds rather than antes. If blinds are used, the two players to the left of the dealer must place bets at the beginning of each hand. As the dealer’s position moves around the table, each player must pay the blinds once per orbit.
The player to the immediate left of the dealer is the small blind and must place a bet equal to half the size of the big blind. The big blind is one seat to the left of the small blind. The big blind is equal in size to the small betting limit. In a $5/$10 game, the small blind would be $2.50 and the big blind would be $5.
Dealer
In games that use a full time dealer, a small disc known as the “dealer’s button†is passed around the table to represent the dealer’s position. Even though the players never actually deal the cards, one of them is always known as the dealer. The dealer’s button moves one seat to the left at the beginning of each hand.
When performing the initial deal, the player to the left of the dealer receives one card face down first and then each other player receives one card, going clockwise around the table. After all the players have one card, the dealer hands out one more card to each player in the same fashion as before. This is repeated until each player has five cards.
First Betting Round
The first betting round begins after all the players receive their cards and have a chance to look them over. The player to the immediate left of the dealer (the small blind) starts the betting. This player may call, raise, or fold.
The betting then continues clockwise around the table. Each player will have a chance to call, raise, or fold. If there are no raises, the big blind can check because he already paid a full bet at the beginning of the hand. The small blind would have to complete the half-bet to stay in.
Draw
After all the bets have been matched, players may now discard as many cards as they wish and draw new ones. In some games, the rule is that you may only discard up to three cards unless you have an Ace. In that case, you can discard every card except the Ace. In most games, however, you may discard as many cards as you wish.
Second Betting Round
Now that the players have their new cards, a second round of betting may begin. This round begins with the first remaining player to the left of the dealer. This player may check, bet, or fold. The betting then continues clockwise around the table until all the players have had a chance to act.
Showdown
If there are two or more players remaining after the last betting round, these players have a showdown. The player with the best poker hand wins the pot. If only one player remains after the last betting round, that player may collect the pot without showing his cards.
